Video by Alyssa Proulx

Student and professional drag performers came together Sunday evening, dressed in either geeky or glamorous attire, for the Geeks vs. Glam drag show in the Lory Student Center Grand Ballroom.
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The show, which is organized by the student organization PRISM, featured nearly 30 student and professional drag performers, with a special performance from Raja Gemini, the season three winner of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
Hosts Vivica Galactica and Evelyn Evermoore educated the audience about gender identity and the differences between cosplaying and dressing in drag.
Gemini said the identity of Raja Gemini is not separate from her identity as Sutan Amrull, which is Gemini’s birth name.
“Drag for me is not a character. I’m not a separate entity,” Gemini said. “Raja is not a different person. Raja is just Sutan with different clothes on.”
At the start of the show, Hosts Vivica Galactica and Evelyn Evermoore announced that they wanted the spring semester drag show to raise $200 more than the previous show, which was around $1,400, to go towards programming for the Pride Resource Center. By the end of the night, audience members had donated $2,000.
Delray Echohawk, the co-president of PRISM and co-director of the drag show, has worked for the drag show since his freshman year, making the “Geeks vs. Glam” drag show his last.
“It’s nice to be relieved of all this responsibility, but it’s also been the most important thing to me that I’ve done during my full four years here at CSU,” Echohawk said. “Being involved with the drag show my first semester, seeing it and being involved was my first time seeing drag ever, so I think even seeing how diverse of an art form that is.”
Jame Fuerte, a sophomore dance and nutrition major, performed in the student group, For Your GenderTainMent. Fuerte said performing in the drag show has allowed him the opportunity to perform and have fun.
“Drag for me is not a character. I’m not a separate entity.”- Raja Gemini
“I continue coming back for the support that I get from all of my friends, and for the opportunity to be surrounded by people who are open minded to this kind of thing,” Fuerte said. “It’s not every day that you get to dress up and be in heels and perform without being discriminated against.”
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Sophomore music education major Kelci Hartz and sophomore zoology major Erin Carlson performed under the name Boyz/Two Men.
Hartz said she has been involved in the drag show during previous semesters, but the Geeks vs. Glam show was her second time performing.

“Since I’m kind of a performing person, … it was another cool performance outlet, plus I’m a part of the LGBT community, so it was another outlet for that,” Hartz said. “I’ve got to meet a lot of cool people through it … (and) it’s a really good inclusive way for anyone who wants to perform to be who they are.”
Carlson said she always wanted to perform and decided to participate this semester.
“It’s a really cool show because everyone is just trying to make everyone have fun,” Carlson said. “It’s not super competitive … it’s a really positive environment to be kind of weird in.”
Echohawk said he encourages everyone who is unsure about going to the drag show or who has not been during their time at Colorado State University to go.
“I feel like a lot of folks who have been or have a really positive experience are really excited to go back, but I think a lot of folks who have never been are kind of skeptical,” Echohawk said. “I really encourage those folks to take that time out of (their) Sunday evening to just go see parts of it … I promise them they will not be disappointed. I went, and it blew my mind, and I haven’t left it since.”
Collegian News Director Haley Candelario can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @H_Candelario98.